Maxine Hepfer on Blogger: March 2016

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Kitchen Dog Theater in Dallas Offers Unique Performances

Maxine Marie Hepfer works with the Transaction Real Estate group of Ernst and Young. In her free time, Maxine Marie Hepfer enjoys attending theater pieces at the Kitchen Dog Theater. The small-scale, independent venue in Dallas presents shows that tackle themes other playhouses would not dare touch.

Kitchen Dog Theater aims to provide a place where human freedom, morality, and justice are questioned. The theater brings in thought-provoking, challenging plays that fight against the grain of social convention.

One performance that Kitchen Dog Theater brought in was called Gideon’s Knot. This play dealt with suicide, bullying, and culpability. DC Theatre Scene called Gideon’s Knot a heart-stopping show filled with suspense and questions about parenting. The play tells a funny yet sad and disturbing tale by way of a difficult, true-to-life storyline.

Thursday, March 3, 2016

The Impact of Increasing Interest Rates on Commercial Real Estate

A senior at Ernst & Young, Maxine Hepfer has been a member the company’s Transaction Real Estate (TRE) group in Dallas, Texas, for several years. At the direction of Partner Steve Rado, TRE published an article in late 2015 that discussed the effect of rising interest rates on the commercial real estate industry in the face of imminent rate increase by the Federal Reserve (Fed).

When the Fed considered raising interest rates at the end of 2015, people generally assumed that lenders, investors, and developers in the real estate industry would suffer. This made sense, at least intuitively, because any boost in benchmark interest rates, such as Treasury bonds, typically makes all yield-oriented investments considerably less attractive.

Ernst & Young thought leaders Steve Rado, Thomas Dudney, Dan Jensen and Peter Brogan, however, determined that rising interest rates should not immediately threaten commercial real estate values for a number of reasons. Firstly, there has been no strong historic correlation between the yield on 10-year Treasuries and commercial real estate cap rates. Secondly, any federal rate hike will improve economic conditions, and improved economic conditions should drive stronger commercial real estate fundamentals. Thirdly, an increase in the federal funds rate may not have a significant near-term impact on many types of commercial real estate debt. And finally, current capital flowing into domestic commercial real estate continues to be strong.

About Maxine

Maxine Hepfer serves as a senior analyst for the transaction advisory services branch of Ernst and Young, LLP, in Dallas, Texas. This position requires Maxine Hepfer to evaluate the real estate components of a company's portfolio and perform market research regarding the valuation of property. Among other things, her responsibilities include due diligence to aid clients looking to buy or sell their holdings.

To prepare for her career, Hepfer attended Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. The recipient of a bachelor of science in hotel administration with a minor in real estate, she took courses in corporate and real estate finance as well as advanced business modeling. Moreover, she earned a German Studies certification and was a finalist in the Villanova Real Estate Case Competition.

As an undergraduate, Maxine Hepfer obtained leadership experience with various student organizations. For over three years, she held a position as a teaching assistant for a business computing class during which she won the Best Teaching Assistant Award. Her sophomore year, Maxine Hepfer was chosen from more than 100 students to become commissioner of the Student Assembly Finance Commission.

She also became a member of the Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity, in which she served as Ritual Chair and remains an active Brother. Finally, she served as both recruitment chair and communications liaison for the Student Advisory Board of the Hotel School.